


Like a family

by ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish



Series: Ree [14]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Conversations, F/M, Friendship, Long Shot, Love, Reunions, To Be Continued, True Love, Unconsciousness, injured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 04:22:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12225675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish/pseuds/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish
Summary: Ree's badly hurt, but she finally finds what she's been looking for. The story of Ree & Hancock continues.





	Like a family

Darkness.

Shit, my arm hurts. It keeps throbbing and slowly pulling me away from the blissful, empty space. Soon other sensations follow the pain and I start feeling cold. I want to reach and and pull a blanket on me; I'm sure that I've just thrown it on the floor, but my arm feels unnaturally heavy to lift. In fact, every single of my limbs feels like that.

I'm also starting to hear something. Someone's talking... No, two separate voices. But they overlap so often that I can't make out any words at this point. At first I thought the talkers would be somewhere far away, but as more of me slides to the full consciousness from the darkness, the voices become clearer. I realize that the owners of them are in the same room with me.

”...kind of fuckin' moron lets her walk around in the city? She can't even use guns!”

”Mmh.”

”I should go back down and kick his ass right now. I should take that flag he's wearing and just strangle him with it.”

Someone chuckled.

”It's not funny! He could be the one who bought Ree and just gets some sick kicks out of watching how she gets beaten up out there.”

”But he was carrying her and asking us to help her. He didn't seem bad. For a ghoul.”

”Well, maybe he just didn't want her dead just yet”, a woman voice snapped.

I gave out a weak groan, and there was sudden shuffle next to me.

”Ree?”

I finally managed to open my eyelids, but they were still heavy and opened only halfway. I registered two people in the room. The room itself seemed high, so I figured I must be laying on the floor, on a some kind of thin mattress by the feel of soft texture under my fingers. The room also had a spacious feeling, though here and there were office desks, scattered papers and small piles of junk. One person was sitting on my right side, holding something up. The other one was grouching on my left. A warm hand touched my face.

”Holly... Found. You”, I whispered and tried to smile, but it came out crooked as the tears started rolling off my temples. My throat was dry and it made talking difficult.

Holly, flushed with worry, started crying, too. She bent down to hug me as well as she was able to. When I noticed that my body didn't seem quite as heavy as it had been before, I started to raise my right hand to hug her back.

”Try not to move”, the other woman said and pressed my arm back down. ”I'm giving you a transfusion and it's hooked to your healthy hand.”

”What the hell were you doing out there?” Holly was still crying and her voice came out muffled and broken.

”You've... always. Looked out. For me. This time. My turn. I was looking for you.”

That made Holly cry even more and the woman holding up the blood pack tried to calm her down by placing her hand on Holly's back. Holly straightened a bit, grabbed my hand and held it tight.

”You're such an idiot”, she finally got a hold of herself. ”You should've waited for me! I was going to find you.”

I smiled and just enjoyed hearing her voice again. Even if it was scolding me.

”Hi, Ree. I'm Leanne. How are you feeling?”

I looked up at the other woman.

”Thirsty. But better. Arm hurts.”

”I'll get you something to drink, hold on”, Holly wiped her face vigorously as she got up and left the room.

”Where's... Hancock?” I managed to croak, and Leah looked blank for a second.

”Oh, the guy who was carrying you? He's downstairs. Holly didn't want to let him close to you until she's heard from you who he is.”

”He was okay?”

”He seemed fine. Just rattled because Holly didn't let him up here with us.”

I let out a breath. It felt like a mountain of stones had rolled off my chest. Holly came back and as she helped me to drink, Leanne pressed at the front of my elbow as she pulled the needle out and put a bandage on.

”Feeling any better? I patched up your arm, but it definitely will leave scar. Something had made a long incision all the way from your elbow to your shoulder. It's a miracle it missed the artery. If you can, try to move your fingers for me and squeeze them into a fist.”

I did what she asked and was relieved to see that all my fingers worked well. Now that I looked at my arm more closely, it was indeed wrapped from below the elbow and all the way up. It was a mess, but at least it was still attached to me.

”Holly, please get Hancock”, I asked. ”The man who was with me. He's a friend. I need to see him.”

Holly's face went sour and she closed up the bottle.

”Ree, are you in trouble? Did that ghoul buy you from the raiders? If you just tell us, we can help you.”

I shook my head, frustrated.

”No. He's my friend. He helped me to get here when I wanted to go look for you. Please, let him in.”

”I thought he was okay”, Leanne shrugged her shoulders. ”Besides, he had a shotgun. If he'd wanted to come here, he wouldn't really need our permission. He already knows we're low on ammo.”

Holly pressed her lips together, and after a moment stood up and walked out of the room. Leanne grinned at me.

”You really should've seen her yelling at him. She was like a Deathclaw mommy. It was hilarious.”

Soon, a dark figure filled the door frame and I turned to look. It was Hancock, covered with dirt and dust. He had found his hat, too. He crossed the room with brisk steps, kneeled down and grabbed my hand, entangling his fingers with mine.

”Hi, Sunshine”, he smiled, but his voice was hoarse and eyes looked at me intensively.

”Are you okay?” I asked and his face got darker.

”Yeah. I am. Because of you. But you got hurt, and that's on me.”

I managed to smile weakly.

”No, it's not. Things happen. I'm just happy that you're alive and safe.”

Hancock let out a quick, shaky breath, which I had never seen him do before, took off his hat and bent down to kiss me. Only then I realized how worried he had been. He nuzzled my face between his hands and pressed his forehead against mine, eyes closed.

”Whoa”, Leanne exclaimed and withdrew a bit from us. She sounded amused, but not in mocking way. ”Okay, ”friend” it is.”

I heard Holly walking in and drawing a quick breath. Hancock raised his head a bit, looked straight at her and grinned.

”Sorry, sister. I guess we're like family now.”

”Ree, tell me who this is”, Holly rasped out while staring at him with surly face. ”I want to know who I'm about to gut.”

Hancock smirked at her, delighted.

”I like your style, but I'm not forgiving you about the earlier so easily. I'm John Hancock, the mayor of Goodneighbor. At your service.”

Holly crossed her arms and glared at him, showing how unimpressed she was.

”I've heard of you. The mayor of Goodneigbor, town of ghouls and criminals. And that's not all I've heard. What's your angle? What do you want from her? Has he done something to you?”

”What?” I exclaimed as well as I could, lying on the ground. ”Holly, stop that. He helped me for all this time, and I love him”, the words rolled off my lips before I could hold them in.

I closed my eyes, but had the chance of seeing Holly widen her eyes in disbelief.

” _Him_? Really? I mean... Are you sure you're fully conscious?”

I gave out a tired smirk and Hancock chuckled.

”You know, I'm not that unlovable”, Hancock commented. He started to sound like himself again now, when it looked like I was going to be okay. ”You heard that, Ree? She's concerned about your mental health. Though I admit, maybe not entirely without reason when you're with me.”

I just smiled. I still felt tired and the drowsiness came and went like waves.

”Are we still at the café?” I tried to change the subject and took a look around.

”No, but close. We didn't really have the time to move you since you had already lost a lot of blood. But don't worry, we're on higher ground. This is some small office we ran in to, and there wasn't anyone inside”, Holly answered and gave me more water.

”As soon as she's feeling well enough, we should move, though”, Leanne noted and stood up, stretching her limbs.

”She's right. From what she has told me we still have quite a journey ahead of us before we'll arrive to her family's farm”, Holly nodded. ”Ree, you'll come with us, right?”

I frowned and saw Hancock's pose grow tense, but he didn't say anything.

”I'm... Not”, I turned my head so that I could look directly at Hancock. ”I've made a deal with him. As soon as I'm ready to handle myself out there and found you, I'd become his contact in Diamond City. Wasn't that what we agreed on?”

Hancock smiled and raised his eyes to Holly, whose eyes went back and forth between him and me.

”It was. But what kind of mayor would I be if I'd use something petty like that to keep you to myself. So... The deal's off. Choose what you really want.”

”I want you”, I said firmly and tried to sit up, but felt too dizzy. Leanne gave me a hand and I thanked her. ”I meant what I said. I love you and I want to be with you. Deal or not.”

This time his smile was wider and genuine. So he _had_ been wondering of what would I do after I'd find Holly.

Holly looked speechless. She opened and closed her mouth for a while. She clearly couldn't decide if she should try and force some sense into my head, or kick Hancock's ass, or both. Finally, she sighed and rubbed her face.

”Are you sure, Ree? I mean... You'd be safe with us. Leanne's family is big and they have a nice, working farm up North. If you stay here-”

”I'll be fine”, I interrupted Holly before she could continue. ”I don't always want to rely on other's strength – instead I want to become stronger, and he has already helped me achieve so much. I appreciate everything you did to me when you took me in. Like you said to me, I also felt like you were my sister and that's not going to change. You will still be a part of my family, if you want.”

Holly pressed her lips together, knelt down and gave me a warm hug. This time I could hug her back, though I couldn't apply much strength.

”Of course I still want to be your family! And If you're staying here, I'll come visit you. And make sure _he_ hasn't done anything _weird_. Like turned you into a ghoul.”

”Hey, now”, Hancock exclaimed and pretended to be offended. ”For your information, sister, being a ghoul is freakin' awesome.”

…

We talked for quite some time, until I noticed that it was already dark. Leanne lit some candles she had in her backpack and everyone agreed that it would be better to spend the night in the small office. I still needed to rest and even though we weren't far from Goodneighbor, it would be too dangerous for me and Hancock to travel it alone when I wasn't up for fighting. So Hancock persuaded Holly and Leanne to make a detour to Goodneighbor, because that way it would be safer for all of us and Holly and Leanne could get more supplies.

Holly told us their story of how it had been at the secluded slave farm, where Leanne had already spent almost a year before Holly was delivered there. Those two included there had been almost ten more slaves, and the man who ran the farm had made them to grow crops, used them as servants and, of course, for sex. Together with his two younger brothers and some other men the owner was living the good life with caps they earned for farming and running various other businesses. Holly didn't want to tell me everything, so I could only imagine what she must've had gone through.

They had been on their way to Leanne's farm, when a yao guai had surprised them. They only managed to wound it, but they didn't have enough ammo, so they ran into the café where they had been for almost a full 24 hours. For the whole time the bear had guarded them and they had thought they'd either die there or when the beast would've gotten in.

I also noticed that Holly relied a lot on Leanne. At many cases, Leanne was holding Holly's hand and staying close. She was much quieter than Holly, but she made sure she was nearby if it looked like Holly needed some mental support when telling about their past weeks. Soon enough Holly admitted that they were in love, and I was sincerely happy for them. Leanne seemed like someone who could match up Holly's fiery nature, but could also see beneath her outbursts.

There wasn't much to make beds out of, but after rummaging some lockers and piles of random stuff Holly, Leanne and Hancock spread some clothes in two different corners. The mattress which I was lying on was actually one of Holly and Leanne's sleeping bags. They had another too, and assured that they would manage. So we were divided, me and Hancock in the one corner, as Leanne and Holly settled in the other.

Hancock was lying next to me on his right side, on top of the old clothes, and watching me. I took his hand in mine and kissed it.

”You really sure? That you want to stay in Goodneighbor when your friend leaves?” he asked with husky voice.

”I'm beginning to think that you don't want me around”, I smiled and he grinned, but it was a gentle grin. ”You keep asking me that over and over.”

”On the contrary, Sunshine. I want you around and close to me. You know... You called me by my first name today, for the first time. I liked it.”

”You want me to call you John?”

”When we're together. Yes. I like how it sounds when you say it.”

”Okay then”, I blushed and gave his hand a weak squeeze. ”I love you, John.”

Hancock bent down and pressed his mouth on mine for a moment, before whispering.

”I love you, Sunshine. You're the best thing I got.”

 


End file.
